Red Cross Calling 2009 will not go ahead

Red Cross is currently responding to one of the worst disasters Australia has ever seen, the Victorian bushfires. Over the coming weeks and months the operational response to the Bushfire Appeal will place unprecedented demands on Red Cross people and resources, requiring our full focus. Because of this and because we do not want to cause confusion with another fundraiser, the decision has been made not to proceed with our major fundraising campaign, Red Cross Calling, this March. We apologise for this change of plans.

We still need your help

There is still an urgent need to raise funds to support our day-to-day work in preparing communities for disasters, like the Victorian bushfires, making daily phone calls to elderly people living alone, providing breakfast for kids who would otherwise do without and bringing clean water and health to villages in Asia Pacific.

Our general donations, like those made through Red Cross Calling enable us to support vulnerable people in all these ways.

To help out, you can:

• make a donation to 'where it's needed - Australia' or 'where it's needed - international'
• sign up as a regular monthly giver
• make a purchase from the Warm Fuzzy eShop
• set up an online fundraising campaign
• purchase a power of humanity t-shirt

Collectors -- your kits need to be returned

Critically we need your help in returning the Red Cross Calling kit which you would have received already. These are official auditable documents that must be returned to Red Cross and we would appreciate it if you could do this by 16th March, using the reply paid envelope enclosed. If you are unable to do so it is important that you let us know by either emailing rccappeal@redcross.org.au or by calling us on Freecall
1800 008 831 so that we can record this on our database (please quote your collector number to help us identify you correctly -- whether you email or phone).
 
Some collectors had already made donations to the ongoing work of Red Cross -- which is what Red Cross Calling supports -- ahead of the larger public campaign being launched. Please be reassured that for those who have, your donation is valued and necessary and will still be used in supporting the ongoing work of Red Cross in Australia and overseas -- services such as making daily phone calls to elderly people living alone, providing kids who would otherwise go without with a healthy breakfast and bringing clean water and health to villages in Asia Pacific